Letters | The coronavirus threat has not been exaggerated, countries must act quickly to bolster their health care systems

Don’t be lulled by the infection rates in hygiene-conscious Hong Kong and the rest of China, whose extreme shutdown measures cannot be replicated worldwide. Instead, countries must prepare for a sharp increase in highly infectious pneumonia patients.

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Visitors wearing face masks walk near the Gwanghwamun, the main gate of the 14th-century Gyeongbok Palace, in Seoul, South Korea, on February 22. South Korea become the country worst-hit by the coronavirus after China, after two rapid clusters of infections emerged, linked to a church and a hospital. Photo: AP

Published: 7:25am, 27 Feb 2020Updated: 7:25am, 27 Feb 2020

The new coronavirus is highly contagious. We can and must slow it down but we cannot stop it. Meanwhile, every country needs to rethink its health care systems.

Healthy people quickly develop antibodies against the coronavirus, which affects lung function. However, those with underlying conditions, especially those whose lungs are damaged by smoking and air pollution, are at severe risk. Close contact on a cruise ship, at a hotpot party, retirement dinner, family gathering, church group, in temples, prison or hospital, especially, has shown to be fertile ground for transmission. The virus can spread from people who show no signs of illness, and some may never exhibit symptoms as they develop antibodies quickly.

The sick can quickly overwhelm health care systems that simply do not have the facilities, staff and procedures to cope. We have seen this in Hubei province, in Japan’s difficulty in handling the cruise ship, in Daegu and nearby cities in South Korea, and also in Italy.

Shutting down economic and social activities, including most cross-border traffic, together with a very hygiene-conscious population grounded in its experience of the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2003, has allowed Hong Kong to control the spread of the infection. However, this is hard to achieve everywhere and unsustainable over time.

We need to normalise the economy before we destroy more businesses and jobs. If we do not, more people will die of stress and poverty than from the coronavirus. Balancing epidemic prevention and the economy is tough and will challenge local, national and global governance mechanisms.

Some overseas specialists believe the response to the virus is overblown and stimulated by the pharmaceutical industry. They should not be misled by the low numbers in Hong Kong and the figures reported in mainland China. These were achieved using extreme measures which are entirely unsustainable economically.

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Letters | The coronavirus threat has not been exaggerated, countries must act quickly to bolster their health care systems

Letters | The coronavirus threat has not been exaggerated, countries must act quickly to bolster their health care systems